News & Updates Archives

September 15, 2008. The Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL) launched Columbia University's new site on iTunes U in early September. The site, called Columbia on iTunes U, allows Columbia students, faculty, and the public to download free lectures, seminars, and other Columbia-produced media content to mobile devices or personal computers.

iTunes U was created by Apple to provide schools with a platform to archive and distribute educational content to the university community and the public. Many universities also use the platform to distribute audio and video clips of campus tours and popular speakers making it easier than ever to stay connected with alumni and prospective students.

In fall 2005, CCNMTL began promoting the use of podcasting as a tool for instructors to provide educational resources to their students. Later, in an effort to expand the Center's podcasting capacity and accessibility to faculty and students, CCNMTL began working with Apple on an iTunes U contract for Columbia University. During this period, Columbia University's medical and dental schools produced podcasts for nearly 30 courses each semester. These podcasts, in addition to digital libraries, quizzes, glossaries, and lecture podcasts from around the university, have contributed to the 1,400+ media tracks now available on Columbia’s iTunes U site.

The Center will continue to support faculty and instructors in effectively using podcasts in their teaching and help them manage their own course-related audio and video collections within the site. Students enrolled in Columbia courses will be able to download these materials for further review and study.

Podcasts of conferences, featured content, and promotional materials, such as walking tours of the campus, are currently accessible through Columbia’s site. Columbia's schools and departments will manage their own sections within Columbia on iTunes U, offering new audio and video content for courses and academic lectures, student profiles, and admissions videos. Publicly available content will continue to be added to the site throughout each academic year.

Columbia on iTunes U is accessible through its launch site, http://itunes.columbia.edu. For more information please contact CCNMTL at ccnmtl-itunesu@columbia.edu.